Basil Pesto
Basil Pesto: Summer is a great season to grow your own herbs, but truly, this recipe can be made all-year long with your own or market-purchased basil. If you have other greens on hand such as parsley, spinach or even kale, feel free to experiment with 50/50 basil-greens combos and find out what you like! It’s a great way to repurpose your on-hand greens and develop a super versatile sauce.
Basil pesto is great with pasta (such as Banza chickpea pasta); spread onto a base of gluten-free flatbread or pizza crust before topping; or on sauteed cauliflower gnocchi. I always have several batches in my freezer for use all year long. Simply thaw in the fridge or on the counter prior to use (note: if adding cheese, omit that step before freezing and add after defrost).
If you’re growing basil at home, you can grow it all year long by bringing your plant indoors in a well-lit space during the colder months. This recipe, as written, is vegan. I actually like to keep it that way and rarely add cheese – I think the pine nuts add enough of a lush creaminess to the recipe that cheese isn’t needed (and I’m a cheese lover!). Experiment and see what you like best.
The ratios in this basil pesto recipe can be adjusted to your liking in several ways: sub in toasted cashews or almonds for pine nuts; add lemon for extra depth of acid; or stir in your favorite fresh grated cheese in the final step. Finally, these ratios can be doubled or tripled depending on how many herbs or greens you have on hand – if using 2 cups basil plus additional greens, increase all other items roughly.
My strategy for freezing: I like to freeze batches of my basil pesto throughout summer and use all year long. I line a small tupperware or freezer safe plastic or glass container with plastic wrap (making the wrap higher than the sides of container) and then pour in my pesto. Freeze until pesto is set. Once set gently pull the saran or plastic wrap from the container and your pesto will pop out in one piece. Place in ziploc or freezer safe bag, label with date and recipe notes and store for up to a year (I’ve stored for at least 14 months with total success). If freezing, I usually add only enough olive oil to get to a thicker consistency then add my additional oil to the mix once defrosted.
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Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 C basil leaves or, 1 C plus 1 C spinach or other
- 1/4 C pine nuts toasted and slightly cooled
- 1 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 1/3 C olive oil
- Optional: Juice of half a lemon; spinach; parsley; Pecorino Romano or other hard cheese grated
Instructions
- Pluck or prep basil leaves; if not pre-washed, rinse and dry on paper or cotton towels. If using additional greens, repeat same.
- Add pine nuts to a saute pan and roast on low to low-medium heat; keep an eye on these and stir from time to time – these can burn easily if heat is too high. Remove and let cool.
- To a food processor (I use a mini-processor for this entire recipe – it’s all you need!), add 1 or more cloves garlic, cooled pine nuts and lemon juice (if using). Pulse a few times until ingredients form a rough paste.
- Add your basil (and optional greens). Pulse again a few times to roughly chop. Scrape down sides.
- Slowly add your olive oil and run processor in between additions. You want to create a consistency that is fluid but not runny. Err on the thicker side if in question, as you can always stir in more olive oil later. I usually eyeball my olive oil rather than measure – and you can too, once you get the knack for what you like. Note: You may have some of the ⅓ C left over, and that is fine.
- Season to taste with salt & pepper. Pour into container and stir in cheese if desired. Store or use.
Nutrition
